Metal Mayhem @ Tank Bar, St Helens 05/08/22

Another Friday night in St Helens and yet another gig in the hallowed grounds of Tank bar. The venue where patrons are squeezed for space but absolutely nobody cares. Metal Mayhem is an absolute staple of the venue, putting on some of the best local bands that the independent metal scene can provide. On this night, we were treated to four stellar sets that popped off the charts. I always have a good night when it comes to Metal Mayhem. So much respect, love and joy is shared. Drinks were drank, noise was made and the rest of the town centre wondered what kind of demonic sacrifice is being made in Chrom’s name. What I’m trying to get at is that it was a good night and if you’re ever interested in any of the lineups for one of these events I would urge you to try and make it there.

Opening up the evening’s proceedings were Death Cadet. An up-and-coming heavy metal act that sounds like they came out of the mid-2000s. Very much that typical emo-punk metal sound; duelling clean and growled vocals, tuneful hooks and heavy metal chugging. It all felt well put together and I couldn’t really poke holes in their set. They were efficient with their time on stage keeping the momentum flowing from one song to the next. Opening nights like this can be a tough challenge as it’s your responsibility to set the tone for the night to come and they were more than up for the challenge. They showed good humour and engaged with the audience, by the end they had clearly won the room. They just put on a pure charm offensive and it worked very much in their favour. I saw some solid techniques on display but at the same time, nothing felt over-cooked. The best way to describe this set was effective and efficient. They got in, did their thing and got out. A very enjoyable set with a good amount of crowd banter to get things warmed up for the following bands.

CHECK OUT DEATH CADET: FACEBOOK

Dekaytah were next and oh my god… This one was crazy. I think this might have been my favourite set of the night and reading the room, I feel like that might have been the general consensus. I could think of half a dozen buzzwords to describe this set: Explosive, intense, commanding, brutal etc. These guys were a real treat and I genuinely never heard of them before this night. The set was a roaring powerhouse of heavy beatdowns, headbanging and screaming. All the good hallmarks of a brilliant hardcore metal band. The set was tight and packed to the brim with riffs, breakdowns and moshpit incentivising moments. Right from the get-go, they started playing and the crowd started moving. Well as much movement as can be made in Tank. I was honestly having a real blast just headbanging away to them. Their charisma and energy was infectious and I don’t think there was a single person not enjoying themselves. They were men of few words when it came to crowd interaction, they just played and their music spoke a thousand times louder. I don’t think there was a single wasted note or one moment of dead air during their entire set. I will definitely be looking out for them again because that was a top-notch performance. 

CHECK OUT DEKAYTAH: WEBSITE | SOUNDCLOUD | FACEBOOK

How do you follow that up? Well in the words of Monty Python… And now for something completely different. Next up, was About Tonight. I have to say this was a fun one. A pop-punk band with that extra bit of a hot sauce kick to them. To be fair it totally worked for the night. They turned up and put on a pretty decent clinic of enjoyable music. There were some really fun moments from these guys. The demeanour was one to please the audience and to make sure that smiles were on people's faces. There was a genuine personability to them that made them very engaging. Their guitar tones fell somewhere between punk and metal and it was quite pleasant to the ear. They could bring the heavy when they wanted to though. There were definitely moments where you could hear the breakdowns and they definitely had their moments where the screams cut right through. The set was fast and frenetic, with a lot of high-energy songs that kept the momentum going. I think the highlight of the set had to be their cover of Abba’s “SOS”. Which I think got a lot of people singing and bringing a jovielle vibe to the venue. A solid entertaining band that did put on a great show for being sandwiched between two much heavier bands. 

CHECK OUT ABOUT TONIGHT: YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | FACEBOOK

Closing out the evening was Liverpool-based metal band, Scare Tactics. Now it’s been a hot minute since I’ve seen them play live and now I finally had the chance to see them again. Their music is pretty standard meat and potatoes heavy metal. However, I always say there’s nothing wrong with the fundamentals as long as they’re played correctly. Scare Tactics did nothing short of an amazing job. The riffs, the harmonies, the groove, the technique and the stage presence. They just made it look so easy. Their music is a good mix of groove metal, southern boogie and hard rock. Their rhythm was excellent with bass and drums locking in together whilst the guitarists rock out. Their music had that gritty tone that catches my ears in just the right way. It’s almost southern rock vibes I get which always puts me in a good mood. The band themselves were very personable. Just down-to-earth guys who play their music and they don’t pretend to be anything else. I think that’s ultimately pretty good. It keeps the band on the same level as the audience. So, there was a very human element to them. Some sad news on this day for the band as it was announced that bassist, Danny Williams would be leaving the band. So this was pretty much his leaving parade. He still gave it his all and still made it a show for the audience. They put on such a show that the crowd demanded for their encore, to which, the band happily obliged and with that, the night came to a close.

What can I truly say. You got to love nights like this. The atmosphere, the people, the music and the overall vibe is one for excitement and comradery. All four bands did a great job and are well worth your time if you see them on a lineup for any event. I think it’s safe to say that this was another success of an evening for all involved and I look forward to the next one. 

CHECK OUT SCARE TACTICS: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | SPOTIFY